Climbing

Messner and Kukuczka: Two of the Greatest Climbers of All Time

/ Andrew Szalay / 3 Comments
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The Himalayas. (All rights reserved)

REINHOLD MESSNER — b. 1944. Italian.

JERZY KUKUCZKA — 1948-1989. Polish.

No. 2

They weren’t partners. They were rivals. And they are still tied for two on this list of the Greatest Climbers of All Time.

In one of only a few instances of climbing being a race to be first, Reinhold Messner and Jerzy Kukuczka pursued the summits of all fourteen 8,000-meter peaks.

Who was first was clear. Messner completed the circuit a year ahead of Kukuczka. But who was greater?

With flair, Messner initiated the quest to be the first man atop the fourteen peaks in 1983. At that time he had nine summits ticked on his ice axe.

Kukuczka took it as a challenge and threw himself into it without reservation, even though he had only climbed three of the 8,000ers to date. While Messner racked up his remaining ascents, Kukuczka got to the top of the mountains at a faster rate.

While Messner was a visionary and had a flamboyant way with the public, Kukuczka was the starving artist. Messner sought the summits over 16 years to complete the quest and used established routes. Kukuczka on the other hand finished a year after Messner but after starting his quest only eight years earlier. Messner had modern equipment. Much of Kukuczka’s was used or handmade.

Nine of Kukuczka’s bagged summits were by new routes. Four of his overall ascents were in winter.

Messner climbed two peaks alone, including Mount Everest, and climbed Everest without supplemental oxygen.

Kukuczka needed oxygen on Everest.

I have my favorite, but such a side-by-side comparison makes it a photo finish when being objective. And the lens was smudged.

Now that I’ve exhausted three of the best men, and a woman that some of you don’t think was the best among women, are wondering who in hell will I tell you is No. 1. For that, come back tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. US Eastern Time.

This post is part a culmination of a series of posts that considered Who Are the Greatest Climbers of All Time. If you enjoyed this post, please consider following The Suburban Mountaineer on Twitter and Facebook.

To find out who was ranked at number one, click here.

Riccardo Cassin: One of the Greatest Climbers of All Time

/ Andrew Szalay / Leave a comment

RICCARDO CASSIN — 1909-2009. Italian.

No. 3

Like many great climbers, Riccardo Cassin had a restlessness and independent quality that suited him for vigorous activity and creativity. He fought in the resistance to the fascists in Italy in the 1940s. He boxed ceaselessly, that is, until he discovered climbing. What followed was a lengthy career in the mountains.

In 1935, Cassin and Vittorio Ratti climbed the north face of the Cima Ovest di Lavaredo in the Dolomites.

Cassin made the first ascent of the one of the six great north faces in the Alps, the north ridge of the Piz Badile in 1937.

In 1938, he lead the first ascent of the Walker Spur up to the Grand Jorasses’ Point Walker.

In 1961, Cassin lead five teammates up the south face of Denali, to establish an Alaska test-piece, today known as the Cassin Ridge.

In 1958, he lead an expedition that included Walter Bonatti to Gasherbrum IV (26,001 ft./7,925 m.) in the Karakorum. It is the 17th highest mountain the world and has been called more dangerous than K2. The summit attempt was successful and has rarely been repeated.

He continued to climb very late into his century among us.

This post is part a culmination of a series of posts that considered Who Are the Greatest Climbers of All Time. If you enjoyed this post, please consider following The Suburban Mountaineer on Facebook and Twitter.

Climbing matters, even though we work nine to five.

For some more information, please see his obituary from The Guardian.

And click here to see who was ranked at number two.

Alison Hargreaves: One of the Greatest Climbers of All Time

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ALISON HARGREAVES — 1963-1995. English.

No. 4

Some may be irritated that Hargreaves made this list. This wasn’t meant to be a “crowd pleaser.” Regardless of the standard accusations surrounding her, Hargreaves belongs among the greatest.

In 1986, on her first trip to the Himalayas, she was part of an expedition with Americans Jeff Lowe, Tom Frost and Mark Twight forming a new route on Kantega (22,241 ft./6,779 m).

Most notably, she was the first – male or female – to solo all of the great north faces in the Alps in a single season.

She climbed at local crags solo and at a moderately high grade.

She made two visits high on Mount Everest (29,035 ft./8,850 m.), the first in 1994. With the summit close in view, she made the tough choice to turn around due to increasing numbness in her limbs.
Hargreaves returned six months later in 1995, and became the first British woman to climb Everest without the use of supplemental oxygen. And she did so by climbing unaided of help from Sherpas or other climbers. This stands out because of the cultural resistance of Great Britain at the time, where pursuing such activities as a woman, even higher-grade rock climbing, was unconventional in the extreme.

Her ambition aimed to climb the three highest peaks in the world, Everest, K2 and Kangchenjunga.

She died on the descent after summiting K2 in August 1995.

The Everest ascent was her crowning climb, but it was merely the result of a culmination of style and character that had developed over more than a decade of climbing at the highest grades. Hargreaves was pioneering, demonstrated strength, independence and a large degree of spirit.

It’s true that except for her accomplishments on the Great North Faces of the Alps, she was rarely first on a global scale. Lydia Bradley, for instance, had already summited Everest without supplemental oxygen before Hargreaves. Still, Hargreaves’ climbs, in combination with the adversity from outside the climbing world, was more significant than many female climbers before and went beyond the surprise and interest of a woman wearing pants in an era of woolen skirts.

However, Hargreaves drew more attention from being a mother of two young children and a climber, than the technical feats she accomplished.

In fact, today, there is so much written about Hargreaves’ that is critical of her approach to motherhood and pursuing a life climbing that what she accomplished as an alpinist has been somewhat dimmed. In some ways, the criticisms raised were at such a high volume because she caught the attention of the mainstream media, which connected with traditional British sensibilities, which conflicted with her acceptance of risk.

In many ways, she is the penultimate model of being “mum,” and also being simultaneously independent. Her model disregarded traditional values and gender roles with abandon.

Hargreaves was repeatedly called a bad mother for endangering her life at her children. She did, after all, climb the Eiger while she was five-months pregnant. However, in leaving her children, they clearly admired her, and reports were that they were pursuing climbing after her death. Admiration can’t be said every mother.

Controversies aside, Hargreaves pursued her objectives over a relatively long career, that would likely have been much longer had her K2 expedition ended differently. In that time, what she pursued was a pure climb.

This post is part a culmination of a series of posts that considered Who Are the Greatest Climbers of All Time. If you enjoyed this post, please consider following The Suburban Mountaineer on Facebook and Twitter.

Climbing matters, even though we work nine to five.

A useful source: Venables, Stephen, “Obituary: Alison Hargreaves,” The Independent, 21 August 1995.

Click here to see who is listed at number three.

Walter Bonatti: One of the Greatest of All Time

/ Andrew Szalay / 2 Comments

WALTER BONATTI — 1930 – 2011. Italian.

No. 5.

Bonatti, climbed in the Alps, Himalayas, and Patagonia.

He was part of the 1954 Italian expedition to K2, and at the center of K2 first ascent controversy.

Bonatti was a prolific first ascentionist and often climbed alone, including the period test-piece Petit Dru (which he climbed over six days) and making the first winter solo ascent of the Matterhorn by the North Face Direct in February 1965.

On an expedition lead by Riccardo Cassin, Bonatti with Carolo Mauri made a daring first ascent of the entrancing mountain that may be more difficult than K2: Gasherbrum IV (26,001 ft./7,925 m.)

Courage, vision, commitment and creativity were demonstrated repeatedly throughout his career. His self reliance and resourcefulness may have enabled his ascent to greatness above much else. David Roberts wrote in The New York Times after his death, “Mr. Bonatti… fully accepted the dictum of adventure that had been true for centuries, but that may no longer hold: if you get into trouble, you have to get yourself out.”

This post is part a culmination of a series of posts that considered Who Are the Greatest Climbers of All Time. If you enjoyed this post, please consider following The Suburban Mountaineer on Facebook and Twitter.

Climbing matters, even though we work nine to five.

Click here to see who was ranked at number four.

Untouchables: The 5 Greatest Climbers of All Time

/ Andrew Szalay / 1 Comment

I briefly contemplated postponing publishing my list of the five greatest climbers of all time after learning of the 11 killed in the Nanga Parbat terrorist attack at the Diamir BC. I’m unsettled and saddened by the news, but as with anyone throwing a protest or tantrum, the best thing to do is to move on as swiftly as is reasonable. So I’ll post the first climber of the five greatest at 10:30 a.m. (US East Coast Time) today and I’ll post the rest at the same time each day through Friday.

First, I want to preface what you’ll see shortly…

I reviewed about 120 climbers and focused somewhat closely on 70 of them, and scrutinized 53 of them. I was well aware of most climbers, while others I only thought I knew. What I can say is that I am in awe of many, particularly several that didn’t even make this list of the five greatest. For instance, Voytek Kurtyka, one of my personal heroes, didn’t make the cut.

What I have concluded is that the climbers today are amazing. The climbers before were pioneers, that often didn’t even pierce what was possible. However, in pioneering and being first far outweighed the modern potential.

There will be a couple of surprises on the list and I can’t wait to hear your excitement or annoyance. I should point out that the rubric I made and got your feedback on guided the selection only 90-percent. After I “scored” everyone, The factors were not weighted, so there were several “ties” at the first five slots and some decisions had to be made.

Because my list is of the five greatest with the purpose of drawing attention to greatness in climbing and ensure that newcomers to climber are not ignorant of these climbers at a minimum, I made the toughest decisions yet: Who from the top do you name as the sport’s representatives?

Well, I’ll see you at 10:30 (US East Coast Time)…

I appreciate you following me on this quest. If you enjoyed this post, please consider following the Suburban Mountaineer on Facebook and Twitter, if you haven’t already

Climbing matters, even though we work nine to five.

Click here to see who was ranked at number five.

Revised List of Nominees

/ Andrew Szalay / 5 Comments

Okay, we’re only days away now from naming the five greatest climbers of all time. For the last time, I revised the list of climbers up for consideration. I won’t post another group of revisions.

(As a total aside, this process has started to remind me of my day job when I am seeking stakeholder input and collecting public comments. Not that this is a bad thing in any way, because it isn’t. Actually, it has actually been a real pleasure.)

First, this final list of nominees removed the pure rock climbers from the list, like Tommy Caldwell and sport climber Chris Sharma. They simply don’t meet the mountaineering rubric, especially as we established that mountaineering is a higher standard of climbing.

Second, I’ve added on several climbers that you felt were left off. I have considered each one to the best of my knowledge and ability.

Third, I need you to correct me if the list is missing anyone that could be in the top five. If so, do so quickly. However, I believe that the five or so greatest climbers of all time are somewhere on this list below. I say “five or so” because while I will name five, I think that we could have one come in as atie or be given a single ranked spot as a dynamic duo, Batman.

  1. Amedeo, Luigi
  2. Anker, Conrad
  3. Beckey, Fred
  4. Bielecki, Adam
  5. Bonatti, Walter
  6. Bonington, Chris
  7. Boardman, Peter
  8. Boukreev, Anatoli
  9. Brown, Joe
  10. Buhl, Hermann
  11. Cassin, Riccardo
  12. Child, Greg
  13. Desio, Ardito
  14. Diemberger, Kurt
  15. Gervasutti, Giusto
  16. Hargreaves, Alison
  17. Haston, Dougal
  18. House, Steve
  19. Humar, Tomaz
  20. Kaltenbrunner, Gerlinde
  21. Katsutaka Yokoyama
  22. Kukuczka, Jerzy
  23. Kurtyka, Voytek
  24. Loretan, Erhard
  25. Lowe, Alex
  26. Messner, Reinhold
  27. Mummery, Alfred
  28. Munday, Phyllis
  29. Paradis, Marie
  30. Park Young-Seok
  31. Pasaban, Edurne
  32. Peck, Annie Smith
  33. Prezelj, Marko
  34. Rabuffat, Gaston
  35. Rutkiewicz, Wanda
  36. Naoe Sakashita
  37. Sabir, Nazir
  38. Scott, Doug
  39. Shipton, Eric
  40. Steck, Ueli
  41. Tasker, Joe
  42. Terray, Lionel
  43. Tilman, Bill
  44. Twight, Mark
  45. Urubko, Denis
  46. Vidal, Silvia
  47. Viesturs, Ed
  48. Whillans, Don
  49. Whymper, Edward
  50. Wielicki, Krystof
  51. Wiessner, Fritz
  52. Workman, Fanny Bullock
  53. Yan Dongdong

I’m posting the five greatest of all time on Monday. I have my picks, but please tell me, who would you pick?

1. _____________________
2. _____________________
3. _____________________
4. _____________________
5. _____________________

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Climbing matters, even though we work nine to five.

Click here for the next post in this series.